A numerical study of the seasonal circulation in the Seto Inland Sea,Japan

The seasonal variation of water circulation in the Seto Inland Sea is investigated using a high resolution, three-dimensional numerical ocean model. The model results are assessed by comparison with long-term mean surface current and hydrographic data. The simulated model results are consistent with observations, showing a distinct summer and winter circulation patterns. In summer the sea water is highly stratified in basin regions, while it is well mixed near the straits due to strong tidal mixing there. During this period, a cold dome is formed in several basins, setting up stable cyclonic eddies. The cyclonic circulation associated with the cold dome develops from May and disappears in autumn when the surface cooling starts. The experiment without freshwater input shows that a basin-scale estuarine circulation coexists with cyclonic eddy in summer. The former becomes dominant in autumn circulation after the cold dome disappears. In winter the water is vertically well mixed, and the winter winds play a significant role in the circulation. The northwesterly winds induce upwind (downwind) currents over the deep (shallow) water, forming a “double-gyre pattern” in the Suo-Nada, two cyclonic eddies in Hiuchi-Nada, and anticyclonic circulation in Harima-Nada in vertically averaged current fields.     

The structure of the tidal mixing front in the region of Shantar Islands (Sea of Okhotsk) according to data of satellite observations

The location and seasonal variability of the tidal mixing front in the region of Shantar Islands are studied based on an analysis of satellite data. The Shantar tidal mixing front is related to the main features of the oceanographic structure of the northwestern shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk in summer. This front separates the coastal waters mixed by tidal currents and the stratified part of the shelf. The temperature tidal mixing front forms in July after the melting ice cover and disappears in the end of October when the stratification is broken. The mean position of the front changes insignificantly and is determined by the critical value of the Simpson-Hunter parameter (logh/u ₃ = 2.5); the front is located over the isobath of 50 m. The temperature tidal mixing front corresponds to the front in the distribution of chlorophyll a determined from SeaWiFS and MODIS satellite imagery. High (when compared to the stratified part of the shelf) concentrations of chlorophyll a were observed within the zone of intense tidal mixing. Satellite images in the IR range of the spectrum (Landsat-5 TM) demonstrated that the front is dynamically unstable. Mixing effects connected with frontal submesoscale baroclinic eddies have an influence on the structure of the stratified part of the shelf.     

Combined tidal velocity and duration asymmetries as a determinant of water transport and residual flow in Paranaguá Bay estuary

Net transports of water, salt and suspended particulate matter (SPM) for a cross-section in front of the Paranaguá Harbour (Paranaguá Bay, Brazil) are presented for eight distinct tidal cycles. Data include measurements over single spring and neap tidal cycles, during both wet and dry seasons. The main drive forces of circulation and SPM dynamics are identified. Advective transport dominated under moderate to high vertical salinity stratification and weak currents, while mixing processes dominated under well-mixed conditions generated by high currents and low freshwater input. Under partially mixed conditions, both advective and mixing processes were important. The tide-induced residual circulation dictated the magnitude and direction of residual currents and net transports of water and salt, but not of SPM transport. The SPM dynamics was intrinsically related to cyclical processes of erosion, resuspension and deposition driven by tidal currents. The turbulent mixing intensity conditioned the vertical mixing of SPM. Resuspension and vertical mixing were conspicuous in spring cycles, while the horizontal advection preponderated in the neaps. Lags between maximum currents and SPM peak concentrations occurred, with more pronounced hysteresis during ebb periods.     

Classification of highly turbid Jiaojiang Estuary

ThisstudywassupportedbytheNationalNaturalScienceFoundationofChinaundercontractNo.49276274,theZhejiangProvinceNaturalScienceFoundationundercontractNo.490013,theChina-Australiabilateralscienceandtechnologyprogram,theAustralianInstituteofMarineScience,theModellingLaboratoryoftheMarineScienceintheSecondInstituteofOceanographyoftheStateOceanicAdministration.INTRODUCTIONTheJiaojiangEstuaryis1ocatedintheeasterncoastofChina,2OokmfromthesouthoftheChangjiangRiver(YangtzeRiver),linkedin…     

Mixing processes relevant to phytoplankton dynamics in lakes

Active turbulence in lakes is confined to the surface mixed layer, to boundary layers on the lake sides and bottom, and to turbulent patches in the interior. The density stratification present in most lakes fundamentally alters the pathways connecting external mechanical energy inputs, for example by wind, with its ultimate fate as dissipation to heat; the density stratification supports internal waves and intrusions that distribute the input energy throughout the lake. Intrusions may be viewed as internal waves with zero horizontal wavenumber and are formed each time localised mixing occurs in a stratified fluid. Intrusions are also formed in the epilimnion by differential heating or cooling and by differential deepening. The fraction of lake volume below the diurnal mixed layer that is subject to active turbulence is very small, probably of the order of 1% or less in small to medium‐sized lakes. By contrast, in the surface mixed layer, turbulence is less intermittent and maintains phytoplankton in suspension and controls their exposure to the underwater solar flux. Nutrient transport to individual cells depends not only on the cell Reynolds number but also on the Peclet number, which, if large, implies enhanced mass transfer above purely diffusive values.     

Lunar fortnightly modulation of tidal mixing near Kashevarov Bank, Sea of Okhotsk, and its impacts on biota and sea ice

Here we examine the consequences of strong tidal mixing on spatial and temporal distributions of biota and sea ice above Kashevarov Bank, Sea of Okhotsk, using data from field surveys (hydrography, pressure gauge and current meter moorings, and bio-acoustic soundings) and remote sensing (NOAA AVHRR). Fortnightly variations in the amplitude of diurnal tidal currents, primarily resulting from the K₁–O₁ interaction, are shown to dominate water motion over the bank. These currents (with maximum velocities 2 m s⁻¹) create a sharp tidally-mixed front that separates well-mixed water above the bank from stratified water along its flanks. Such mixing draws water upward from the cold dichothermal layer (100–150 m) into the surface layer, and thus serves to ventilate the intermediate layers of the Sea of Okhotsk. In summer, fortnightly modulation of the tidal mixing creates temporal variations in water column stratification, a critical factor in the joint supply of nutrients and light required to sustain phytoplankton growth. As such, chlorophyll-a and oxygen values vary in response to the fortnightly cycle, and zooplankton likewise form dense aggregations within the tidally-mixed front in response to the phytoplankton production. It is further noted that the brood cycle of dominant zooplankton species on the bank matches the fortnightly modulation of the tidal currents. In winter, tidal mixing draws relatively warm water upward from mid-depth to maintain a polynya that cyclically opens and closes in response to fortnightly variation in vertical heat flux.     

椒江河口层化动力特性研究

基于椒江河口大、小潮期间水位、流速、盐度和悬沙浓度观测数据,研究了椒江河口主潮汐通道的水动力、盐度和悬沙浓度的时空变化特征,解释了高浊度强潮作用下的层化物理机制。椒江河口大潮期悬沙浓度和盐度均大于小潮期,主潮汐通道区域落潮期悬沙浓度大于涨潮期;盐度随潮变化,盐水锋面出现在S2测站,锋面附近出现最大浑浊带;自陆向海,悬沙浓度递减,盐度递增;随水深增加,悬沙浓度与盐度递增。Richardson数与混合参数显示,盐度和悬沙引起的层化现象,是随着潮汐的变化而变化,涨潮时的层化均强于落潮,小潮时的层化持续时间最长,区域更广。混合参数随潮周期变化,大潮期高于临界值1.0,小潮期低于临界值1.0。小潮期水体层化强于大潮期;潮汐应变项是影响势能差异变化率的重要因素;落潮期间层化向混合状态转化,涨潮相反。     

河控型河口盐度层化对悬沙的捕集机制

河控型河口盐度混合和层化是控制悬沙输移扩散的重要动力机制。以珠江磨刀门河口为研究对象,基于2017年洪季三船同步大、小潮水文泥沙观测数据,分析河控型河口水体盐度层化结构的时空变化对悬沙分布的影响机制。结果表明:受径潮动力耦合时空变化影响,河口盐度垂向分布表现出时空差异,即受径流主导的M1站(挂锭角),河口盐度在涨落潮周期内垂向混合均匀,受径潮控制的M2站(口门)在整个潮周期内盐度层化结构明显,口门外侧的M3站,潮动力作用较强,盐度垂向分布随涨落潮变化而变化;悬沙空间分布与盐度分布关系密切,盐度混合均匀利于悬沙垂向均匀分布,而盐度层化则使悬沙倾向于滞留在底层水体中,且在盐度层结界面之下出现高悬沙浓度,悬沙浓度垂向分布曲线呈L字型或抛线型,纵向上表现为高浓度悬沙团抑制在盐水楔前端,盐度层化对悬沙的捕集效应明显。通过对比水体标准化分层系数与水流垂向扩散强度系数发现,两者呈现负相关关系,即标准化分层系数愈大,垂向扩散强度愈小,表明水体层化抑制悬沙垂向扩散强度,而且水体层化程度越高,悬沙垂向扩散抑制程度越大,进而促进了河口水体盐度层化对悬沙捕集作用。本研究有助于揭示河口细颗粒泥沙运动机制及河口拦门沙演变机制,并为磨刀门河口拦门沙治理提供科学依据。     

象山港内湾潮汐应变对横向流及其余环流垂向空间结构的调控研究

横向流 (垂直于海湾主轴方向的流动) 对横向动量以及物质分布具有重要影响。已往研究表明,潮汐应变对横向流的垂向空间结构具有重要的调控作用。但这种认识仅局限于强层化海区,弱层化条件下潮汐应变对于横向流空间结构的影响仍未可知。为此,本文以象山港为例,基于实测数据阐释了弱层化条件下潮汐应变对横向流及其余环流垂向空间结构的调控作用。结果显示,象山港内湾横向流的垂向空间结构随大小潮呈现出明显的变化规律。大潮时,潮汐应变现象明显,涨潮时较强的垂向混合使得横向流在高潮阶段呈现出一层结构;落潮时垂向混合较弱,横向流在低潮时呈现两层结构。小潮时,潮汐应变受到抑制,垂向混合在涨落潮时均较弱,因此横向流在高低潮阶段均呈现出两层结构。经过潮时均进一步得到的横向余环流呈现出上层向南、下层向北的两层结构。由于潮汐应变的大小潮变化,横向余环流的反转深度反转点自大潮到小潮呈现出上升的趋势。     

Stratification and salt-wedge in the Seomjin river estuary under the idealized tidal influence

Advection, straining, and vertical mixing play primary roles in the process of estuarine stratification. Estuaries can be classified as salt-wedge, partially-mixed or well-mixed depending on the vertical density structure determined by the balancing of advection, mixing and straining. In particular, straining plays a major role in the stratification of the estuarine water body along the estuarine channel. Also, the behavior of a salt wedge with a halocline shape in a stratified channel can be controlled by the competition between straining and mixing induced by buoyancy from the riverine source and tidal forcing. The present study uses Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM) to show that straining and vertical mixing play major roles in controlling along-channel flow and stratification structures in the Seomjin river estuary (SRE) under idealized conditions. The Potential Energy Anomaly (PEA) dynamic equation quantifies the governing processes thereby enabling the determination of the stratification type. By comparing terms in the equation, we examined how the relative strengths of straining and mixing alter the stratification types in the SRE due to changes in river discharge and the depth resulting from dredging activities. SRE under idealized tidal forcing tends to be partially-mixed based on an analysis of the balance between terms and the vertical structure of salinity, and the morphological and hydrological change in SRE results in the shift of stratification type. While the depth affects the mixing, the freshwater discharge mainly controls the straining, and the balance between mixing and straining determines the final state of the stratification in an estuarine channel. As a result, the development and location of a salt wedge along the channel in a partially mixed and highly stratified condition is also determined by the ratio of straining to mixing. Finally, our findings confirm that the contributions of mixing and straining can be assessed by using the conventional non-dimensional parameters with respect to salt-wedge behavior.     

A dispersion equation and dispersion coefficient for material transport in Inland Seas

To analyse material transport in inland seas, a horizontal two-dimensional dispersion equation is derived, and the dispersion coefficient due to the combined effect of vertical turbulent mixing and vertical shear of both a steady current and a tidal current is studied. In the present study, the assumption that velocity is uniform in horizontal planes is not necessary, and velocity has a free vertical profile; thus the dispersion coefficient formulated is general, and is represented by a tensor of the second order. The properties of the dispersion coefficient in the horizontal two-dimensional dispersion model are also investigated, and it is shown that the time-averaged dispersion coefficient due to the tidal current over a tidal period is approximately half that due to the steady current, if the velocity amplitude and the vertical profile of the tidal current are the same as those of the steady current (a similar result was presented byBowden (1965) for horizontal one-dimensional models). Finally, the dispersion coefficient in Hiuchi-Nada (Hiuchi Sound) in the central part of the Seto Inland Sea is evaluated by using the model. The values of the dispersion coefficient in that region range from 10³ cm² s^–1 to 10⁵ cm² s^–1 when vertical turbulent diffusivity is taken to be 50 cm² s^–1.     

Strong Tidal Mixing and Ventilation of Cold Intermediate Water at Kashevarov Bank, Sea of Okhotsk

Tidal mixing at the Kashevarov Bank, Sea of Okhotsk, has been investigated using observations of bottom pressure and currents. The tides are dominated by the diurnal constituents. The water motion over the Bank is predominantly controlled by strong diurnal tidal currents, which bring cold water on the bank from its source, a cold intermediate layer. The temperature fluctuations are about 1.2°C at the southern edge of the bank. The maximum observed velocity is about 164 cm/s at the top of the bank. A superposition of the original diurnal constituents K₁ and O₁ reveals a strong fortnightly (M_f) variability of the current speed. Tidal-induced mixing is responsible for ventilation of the cold intermediate layer of the Sea of Okhotsk. Strong tidal mixing creates a well-defined tidally mixed front around the bank. This front acts like a barrier separating well-mixed water on the bank from stratified water on its flanks. There is a residual current of the order of 10 cm/s.     

Tidal and river discharge forcing upon water and sediment circulation at a rock-bound estuary (Guadiana estuary,Portugal)

The relative impacts of tidal (neap, spring) and river discharge (including a flood event) forcing upon water and sediment circulation have been examined at the rock-bound Guadiana estuary. Near-bed and vertical profiles of current, salinity, turbidity, plus surface suspended sediment concentrations (SSC, at some stations only), were collected at the lower and central/upper estuary during tidal and fortnightly cycles. In addition, vertical salinity and turbidity profiles were collected around high and low water along the estuary. Tidal asymmetry produced faster currents on the ebb than on the flood, especially at the mouth. This pattern of seaward current dominance was enhanced with increasing river flow, due to horizontal advection that was confined within the narrow estuarine channel. The freshwater inputs and, at a degree less, the tidal range controlled the vertical mixing and stratification importance. Well-mixed (spring) and partially stratified (neap) conditions alternated during periods of low river flows, with significant intratidal variations induced by tidal straining (especially at the partially stratified estuary). Highly stratified conditions developed with increasing river discharge. Intratidal variability in the pycnocline depth and thickness resulted from current shear during the ebb. A salt wedge with tidal motion was observed at the lower estuary during the flood event. Depending on the intensity of turbulent mixing, the residual water circulation was dominantly controlled either by tidal asymmetry or gravitational circulation. The SSC was governed by cyclical local processes (resuspension, deposition, mixing, advection) driven by the neap-spring fluctuations in tidal current velocities. More, intratidal variability in stratification indicated the significance of tidal pumping at the partially and highly stratified estuary. The estuary turbidity maximum (ETM) was enhanced with increasing current velocities, and displaced downstream during periods of high river discharge. During the flood event, the ETM was expelled out of the estuary, and the SSC along the estuary was controlled by the sediment load from the drainage basin. Under these highly variable river flow conditions, our observations suggest that sand is exported to the nearshore over the long-term (>years).     

北部湾东北部潮锋的观测与分析

近海潮锋的分布与温度、盐度乃至海洋生产力的分布都存在紧密联系。基于北部湾东北部的实测数据,对比分析2016—2017年北部湾东北部海域的温度、盐度、密度等分布,并利用ROMS(Regional Ocean Model System)正压与斜压模式,计算Simpson-Hunter (S-H)参数,阐述了潮锋出现位置及其与温度、盐度和密度的关系。结果表明:北部湾东北部潮锋发生的主要区域位于雷州半岛附近,潮混合区温盐密混合较为均匀。利用ROMS模式计算所得的最大垂直平均流速来计算S-H参数,认为潮锋出现位置位于S-H参数值为2处,与实测结果较为一致,且认为正压模式比斜压模式更能准确模拟潮混合区。另外,分析观测数据发现,温度、盐度、密度锋终年存在。近岸处密度锋主要受盐度锋控制,而潮混合产生的盐度锋又容易被径流掩盖。风力较大时三种锋都易向水深更深处推进,潮混合区终年垂向混合较好。     

Effects of tidally induced eddies on sporadic Kuroshio-water intrusion (kyucho)

The sudden intrusion of Kuroshio warm water into the Bungo Channel (kyucho) occurs mainly at neap tides during summer, suggesting that tidal mixing is one of the essential factors regulating kyucho. In order to clarify the physical mechanisms responsible for the regulation of kyucho, we carry out non-hydrostatic three-dimensional numerical experiments allowing Kuroshio warm water to intrude into a strong tidal mixing region. It is shown that the Kuroshio warm water can (or cannot) pass through the tidal mixing regions off the east coast of the Bungo Channel during neap (or spring) tides. The analysis of the dynamic balance off the east coast of the Bungo Channel shows that tidal residual currents generated by tidal flow interaction with complicated land configurations off the east coast of the Bungo Channel can also play an important role in regulating kyucho. In order to assess separately the effects of tidal mixing and tidal residual currents on kyucho, we incorporate the parameterized vertical mixing and tidal stresses into the numerical model instead of tidal currents. It is demonstrated that tidal mixing cannot by itself block the northward intrusion of Kuroshio warm water, and that an additional effect induced by tidal residual eddies equivalent to horizontal mixing is needed to regulate kyucho. This strongly suggests that the basin–ocean water exchange processes in areas with complicated land configurations can only be reproduced by taking into account the effects of tidal residual eddies on a 1-km scale in addition to tidal mixing effects evaluated by microstructure measurements.     

Three-dimensional numerical experiments on tidal exchange through a narrow strait in a homogeneous and a stratified sea

We have investigated the three-dimensional Lagrangian motion of water particles related with tidal exchange between two basins with a constant depth connected through a narrow strait and the effects of density stratification on the exchange processes by tracking a number of the labeled particles. Tide-induced transient eddies (TITEs), which are similar to those in two-dimensional basin, are generated behind the headlands. Upwelling appears around the center of the eddy and sinking around the boundary. When the basins are filled with homogeneous water, a pair of vortices are produced in the vertical cross section of the strait due to bottom stress, with upwellings along the side walls of the strait and sinking in the center of the strait. These circulations form the horizontally convergent field in the cross-strait direction in the upper layers while the horizontal divergence takes place in the bottom layer. These vertical water-motions produce the three-dimensional distribution of velocity shear and phase lag of the tidal current around the strait, and the Lagrangian drifts of water particles become large. As a result, water exchange through the strait is greatly enhanced: The water exchange rate reaches 94.1% which is much larger than that obtained in the vertically integrated two-dimensional model. When the basins are stratified, the stable stratification suppresses the vertical motion so that a pair of vertical vortices are confined in the lower layers. This leads to a decrease in the exchange rate, down to 88.6%. Our numerical results show that the three-dimensional structure of tidal currents should be taken into account in tidal exchange through a narrow strait.     

Middle Layer Intrusion as an Important Factor Supporting Phytoplankton Productivity at a Tidal Front in Iyo Nada, the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

Field observations were conducted to examine the processes governing the phytoplankton distribution and photosynthetic activity in and around a tidal front formed in Iyo Nada, the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The existence of a middle layer intrusion, which, it has been suggested, moves from the mixed region to the stratified region of the tidal front, was ascertained by the phytoplankton distribution in addition to a T-S diagram. Skeletonema costatum, which originally inhabited the mixed region, was used as the indicator to reveal the intrusion. However, the tip of water containing the S. costatum population did not extend deeply into the stratified region. The velocity of the intrusion seemed to be slow enough to make biological processes, such as nutrient uptake by phytoplankton and subsequent growth, as well as the decrease in cell density due to zooplankton grazing, dominate during the transportation. The patchy distribution of copepod nauplii implied that grazing has an influence on the distribution pattern of phytoplankton. The location of high photosynthetic activity did not coincide spatially with the center of high phytoplankton biomass, suggesting the importance of these biological processes. Therefore, it is considered that the middle layer intrusion plays a role as an inducer of subsequent biological processes at the tidal front by not only supplying nutrients from the mixed region but also by increasing the vertical diffusivity.     

Similitude of the hydraulic model experiment for tidal mixing

The treatment of diffusion due to the tidal current in the near-shore ocean, and the similitude in the hydraulic model experiment are studied.In broad and shallow tidal bays and in the coastal seawaters near irregular boundaries, horizontal eddy-currents induced geometrically and turbulence caused by their cascading have predominant effect on dispersion of river and waste waters. These turbulent diffusion processes are similarly reproduced in the Froude models of turbulent resume, by adding the similitude for the self-similar structure of the spectral density of turbulence, or the eddy diffusivity. The similitude means to take the scale ratios of the time and the vertical length as the two-thirds power of the scale ratio of the horizontal length.Similitudes are also derived for the system of the gravitational circulation, the stratification and the salt-mass transport in partially and well-mixed estuaries. Generally, the vertical eddy diffusivity must be exaggerated by a half power of the model distortion externally by some methods of agitation. When the tidal bay is broad and very shallow, the Rayleigh number and the Hansen number are small, and the effect of density current and stratification on the flushing is small. Instead the effect of local eddies, geometrically induced tidal residual circulations become predominant. In this special case, there is no need to satisfy the similitude for density difference and vertical shear effects on dispersion.     

Circular plumes in Lake Pontchartrain estuary under wind straining

Circular shaped density plumes of low turbidity, low fecal indicator (Escherichia coli and enterococci) concentrations, and high salinity have been observed near the Industrial Canal in Lake Pontchartrain, north of the City of New Orleans. A conceptual model in polar coordinates and a numerical model are developed, together with data analysis, to illustrate the dense plume. It is demonstrated that the northward expansion of the plume occurs under northerly winds. The northward expansion of the plume occurs under northerly winds that drive downwind flow at the surface and upwind radial flow at the bottom. Northerly wind-induced straining, similar to tidal straining, promotes vertical stratification. As a result, the water becomes stratified near a thin bottom layer (<1 m), within which density currents are facilitated. The stability of the stratified plume suppresses wind-induced turbulent mixing inside the plume. The bottom water outside of the plume is more effectively stirred by the wind, the result being that the suspended sediment concentration outside of the plume area is much higher than inside. This contrast in mixing makes the plume visible from the surface by satellites even though the stratification is at the bottom. Laterally, wind stress produces a torque (vorticity) in areas of non-uniform depth such that upwind flow is developed in deep water and downwind flow in shallow water. The continuity requirement produces an upwind flow along the axis of the Industrial Canal (IC). The upwind flow is balanced by the downwind flow over the shallower peripheral areas along the coast.     

The effect of tides on the volume of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean

Tides are believed to drive vertical mixing in the Arctic Ocean, thereby helping heat to reach the bottom of the sea ice layer, especially in regions with thick ice covers. However, tides are usually not included in ocean models. We investigated the effect of tides on sea ice in the Arctic Ocean using an ice-coupled ocean model that includes tides simultaneously. We found that with tidal forcing, the volume of sea ice increased by 8.5% in Baffin Bay, whereas it decreased by 17.8% in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The increase in sea ice volume in Baffin Bay results from the convergence of sea ice, driven by tidal residual currents. In contrast, the decrease in ice volume in the Canadian Archipelago is due to the suppression of ice formation in winter, especially in areas with steep topography, where the vertical mixing of temperature is enhanced by tides. Our results imply that tides should be directly included into the oceanic general circulation model (OGCM) to realistically reproduce the distribution of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean.